September is a month of beginnings for the FDPs. It’s the beginning of the Fall season, a favorite time of year for all of us. But more importantly, it’s the beginning of a very hectic few months leading up to the holidays. Jobs get insanely busy, money gets tight, and the piggies look for inexpensive, comforting ways to get together (no matter how difficult given our busy schedules) and enjoy a meal. Always on the lookout for cuisines we haven’t fully explored in the past, we can choose from a seemingly never-ending supply of delicious ethnic cuisines within our own neighborhoods.
Peruvian chicken is a big thing in the DC and Northern Virginia area. It seems that on nearly every corner in Arlington, there is some kind of spit-fired chicken joint claiming to be the best of the best. It's a great option when looking for a quick, inexpensive lunch, late-night munchie or hangover cure. When deciding on our September meal, we were at first tempted to try one of these places, but knowing us and our appetites, we'd need a lot more than just chicken to fill our hungry bellies. We decided to see what other Peruvian eateries were in the area, looking for a restaurant that offered a full menu so we could explore all options.
Costa Verde is located in Arlington across from a gas station, next to a Jiffy Lube, and down the street from an afore-mentioned Peruvian rotisserie chicken place. Ambiance is not necessarily what you come here for--the inside is a bit stark and cold, not much different from the outside surroundings. There was, what appeared to be, one waitress working and she took care of the entire restaurant including making cocktails. We ordered pisco sours for the four of us, a traditional Latin cocktail mixing pisco, lemon or lime juice, egg whites and simple syrup. It's a tart, yet refreshing drink and they went down easily as we looked over the menu.
We had heard good things about the ceviche at Costa Verde, so we ordered the Ceviche Mixto--a blend of fish, conch, octopus, and squid "cooked" in lemon juice--as a starter. In addition, we ordered some Camarones, jumbo shrimp, sauteed with garlic and tomato sauce. The ceviche was surprisingly good; the fish was fresh and tender. The jumbo shrimp were equally tasty, nicely cooked (not chewy, thankfully) and the saucy was zesty with the garlic and tomato.
The main dishes included Lomo Saltado: flap meat, a seldom used (at least in American homes) cut of beef, sauteed with olive oil, onions, and tomatoes and served with fried potatoes; and Chicharron de Pollo: chicken breast, cut into chunks and deep fried, served with fried yucca. Clearly not having enough fried starch, we ordered another side of fried yucca. The beef dish was delicious, very tender, briny and savory. The fried chicken was, well, you can't really go wrong with fried chicken. It was crispy and quite tasty. The yucca was a winner, perfectly golden on the outside and soft and sweet in the middle.
Costa Verde is a restaurant I have driven past hundreds of times and never noticed. I'm glad we took the time to stop in and see what they had to offer. We weren't disappointed and left sated and ready to forge ahead through the hectic Fall months. 3 Oinks.
